There are people out there who do not want to play gambling at all because they think that once they do, they will fall into addiction. Of course, we know it’s not that immediate nor easy but it makes me wonder whether there’s some truth to that. Is it better to avoid addiction in the first place by completely devoiding yourself of doing that activity instead of playing and getting addicted only to try and recover afterwards?
If you are afraid that you will get out of control, then it is wise to avoid gambling. So imo prevention is better than cure when it comes to gambling. If you are able to control population-level prevention such as limits, ad blocking, access control, the harmful effects of gambling on financial and mental health will be greatly reduced.
Yes, many people think that treatment works for addicts, but getting help is much harder than avoiding addiction in the first place, so it is not worth being lazy in building resistance against addiction.
So I would say, do you want a good nights sleep? then Avoid it. or if you must gamble, then definitely set boundaries and be aware of where to get help.